I wouldn't be surprised if more people were disabled from unsanitary conditions than weapons and lack of food. Keeping your body clean is nice but keeping your food surfaces sanitized is just as important. You can go to Home Depot (or many other stores) and buy a gallon of Simple Green Germicidal Cleaner concentrate (makes 64 gallons) for about $15. Dawn in 75 oz bottles, and a 1 gallon bottle of Zep Industrial purple (makes 25 gallons). Bleach goes bad after a year or two so buy a spare bottle each year for purifying water.

Average person uses about 4 bottles of shampoo a year (not sure what size bottle, internet research). Average person in the US uses 24 bars of soap a year (according to internet research).... seems a bit high to me.What would your teeth become without toothpaste and no dentists? Got a spare manual toothbrush? The US average for TP is 23 rolls a year (assuming no giardia ect in the water). Being a guy I don't know much about female sanitary stuff but I understand a menstrual cup will last for years (Amazon $16 for two, conceder the trade potential).

Keep in mind that the blue Dawn is gentle on the skin and can be used to clean about anything from your hair to your clothes so I'd go heavy on Dawn.

In our case we'd probably have power for the clothes washer and dish washer so we keep a bit of extra detergent for both.Brillo and Scotch pads anyone?

Years ago, about 20yrs, the wife and I started an inventory sheet, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. On those sheets we kept track of all none edible items that we use, from toothpaste to dish detergent and from toilet paper to laundry detergent and everything in between. This went on for a year, after that year, I started stocking up on all the items that we used.

We now keep about two years worth of those items. My wife uses the shampoo and conditioner, I've never used those items, I use strickly nothing but ivory soap on the body and hair. Just like, we have never used paper towels, we use dish towels and dish rags.

All these items are kept in the basement, garage, shed and closets and we have room for more.

If I told you what we have just in hand soap and toilet paper, people would call me a HOARDER and not a prepper.

saw a "helpful hint" the other day in regard to bar soap and pandemic conditions .... the communal use or the continual personal use of a bar of soap is a possible source of disease spread - instead you make soap "chips'' using a potato peeler to make long curls of soap ....

Instead of bleach, consider stocking pool shock, but only after you read up on safety measures. Then make sure you print directions for safely turning the powder into bleach. And read up again regularly since it's obviously highly concentrated and dangerous if handled improperly.Used right it means years worth of bleach in a small space, stored badly means fire and used improperly can mean serious burns. But with proper safety gear it's not too tough...gloves, goggles and apron - that and knowing the ratios and taking the time to do it right. Not trying to scare anyone, just trying to convey the serious nature of concentrated chemicals.

Concerning bleach. We have stockpiled several jars of Evolve beach tablets. Cheap and long lasting storage. We found them at Wallyworld. Added benefit is one little jar makes 32 gallons of bleach. Helps a lot with limited storage space.

NEVER NEVER NEVER try using pool shock to sterilize drinking water unless you want to wake up dead.

Be careful how you store pool shock. I rusted the hinges on my cabinets because of the off-gassing.

Instead, buy bleach tablets or bleach crystals in the grocery store, next to the bleach. Then you can make bleach as you need it.

Hand sanitizer isn't the end-all and be-all that was so hyped, but it still has its uses, we have several large bottles in the LTS.

Eliminate the need for toilet paper. Invest in family cloths, whether you make them yourself or buy them off Etsy. You can color code the fabrics, so every family member has their own, or give them a waterproof bag with 2 pockets, one for dirty, one for clean. I have posted my regimen for use and cleaning elsewhere on this site.

Although I've not done it yet I have all the ingredients AND the instructions to make regular and cold-process soap. It is stored in an old Tupperware container, so if I ever need to do so, I can. It is also on my agenda to learn to do it, but I've busy with other stuff, and I have neighbors who know how to make soap, so I'm not too worried about it yet.

Learn the proper techniques for making a sanitation ditch, if there is no other way to facilitate getting rid of human waste. In the old days, armies survived the war zone and disease, due to where they placed their sanitation areas. Part of General Washington's problem at Valley Forge was the fact that the sanitation ditches were too close to camp, or so we were told when we visited.

Cin wrote:Be careful how you store pool shock. I rusted the hinges on my cabinets because of the off-gassing.

Instead, buy bleach tablets or bleach crystals in the grocery store, next to the bleach. Then you can make bleach as you need it.

Hand sanitizer isn't the end-all and be-all that was so hyped, but it still has its uses, we have several large bottles in the LTS.

Eliminate the need for toilet paper. Invest in family cloths, whether you make them yourself or buy them off Etsy. You can color code the fabrics, so every family member has their own, or give them a waterproof bag with 2 pockets, one for dirty, one for clean. I have posted my regimen for use and cleaning elsewhere on this site.

Although I've not done it yet I have all the ingredients AND the instructions to make regular and cold-process soap. It is stored in an old Tupperware container, so if I ever need to do so, I can. It is also on my agenda to learn to do it, but I've busy with other stuff, and I have neighbors who know how to make soap, so I'm not too worried about it yet.

Learn the proper techniques for making a sanitation ditch, if there is no other way to facilitate getting rid of human waste. In the old days, armies survived the war zone and disease, due to where they placed their sanitation areas. Part of General Washington's problem at Valley Forge was the fact that the sanitation ditches were too close to camp, or so we were told when we visited.

I predict cases of crippling dysentery within a week of the taps going dry - the lack of knowledge about field sanitation among the shepple is staggering - there'll be people washing out diapers and taking a crap in the same pond sheeple are drinking direct from - add in plain washing sanitation problems and lack of TP and you have the making of an epidemic ....

We stockpile plenty of toothpaste but I have the ingredients to make it as well. Toothpaste is one of the drug store items that is often free or at least very cheap (50 cents) with sales, coupons & store rebates/points. I write the expiry in sharpie on the side of the box and keep them in date order so I use the older tubes first.

I keep a shoe box size plastic container with tooth brushes and another one with floss and denta picks. These are inexpensive items that pay huge dividends by keeping your mouth healthy - I can't even imagine a toothache in a SHTF.

We keep a large tote full of soap bars, jugs of Dawn and bottles of bleach crystals. I have consolidated shampoo bottles into empty gallon vinegar jugs to keep from having lots of smaller bottles to store. We also keep hotel soaps, shampoo, conditioner and lotion. Those have been put in larger bottles as well. Those smaller soaps solve the communal soap problem. Only hubs and I share a bar - any visitor gets their own. I often have body wash from hotels to give to visitors if they like that instead of a bar. I am currently saving hotel soaps and lotions for my son and his family - they'll have a small stockpile at no cost to them.

We store TP but I have personal clothes for use as "pee cloths" for females - this will stretch the TP supply exponentially! If the time comes that the TP supply is exhausted, we will switch to the family cloth method. I do have purchased cloths from Etsy but will have to make some when the whole group goes to that method.

Mrs FP

When a defining moment comes along, you define the moment… or the moment defines you.

I also wanted to mention that average use or consumption will not apply in a SHTF world - everyone goes into hyper conservation mode with all supplies. To include everything from health, home, garden, fuel and food - EVERYTHING. We truly are a consumption society, that would change real quick even for those of us who are already pretty frugal. There's something about being faced with the fact we may never get it again that should sharply slow down consumption.

Mrs FP

When a defining moment comes along, you define the moment… or the moment defines you.

Maybe I'm showing my age but brush your teeth with baking soda. Wet the brush, dip into soda & brush away. A box is dirt cheap and it's an effective cleaner your dentist will approve of. It's also it's a great stomach acid neutralizer when your antacids run out. The recipe for bicarbonate of soda to drink is on the box.

In need of a toothbrush? Your index finger works well.

I'll give a caution to using menstrual cups. I used them when I worked long, unpredictable shifts. They were taken off the market then because of TSS (toxic shock syndrome) concerns.

Thieves Oil is a good antibacterial/anti microbial. I stay away from marketing gimmicks like Young Living Oils. Tea tree oil is also good.

NJMike wrote:When traveling I do grab up the complimentary travel size soaps and shampoos from hotels.

I do the same thing! We’ve been traveling so much with our kids for sports through highschool & college that I now have 2 copy-paper boxes FULL of small bars of soap. The little creams or conditioner or shampoos I emptied into larger vinegar jugs to get rid of all the itty bitty bottles. Could have saved them for bartering, but there were so many!

Cin wrote: Instead, buy bleach tablets or bleach crystals in the grocery store, next to the bleach. Then you can make bleach as you need it.

What is the shelf life of those tablets or crystals?

Cin wrote:Eliminate the need for toilet paper. Invest in family cloths, whether you make them yourself or buy them off Etsy.

Same here! I have LOTS of old T-shirts you can cut them up and use them too! I cut up white ones, so I can bleach them.

ForwardPreppers wrote:We stockpile plenty of toothpaste ….

I keep a shoe box size plastic container with tooth brushes and …

Us too! I also have a plastic tub ( larger than a shoebox, smaller than a tote tub) full of toothpaste that I’ve bought on sale. Along with lots of tooth brushes. I got to a lot of conferences with my hubby and the vendors at the exhibit hall often have toothbrushes! You can bet I always grab some!

ForwardPreppers wrote: I have consolidated shampoo bottles into empty gallon vinegar jugs to keep from having lots of smaller bottles to store.

I’ve been using the vinegar jugs for larger storage use for a number of years now! I have them full of shampoo, conditioner & dish detergent! It gets rid of a LOT of smaller bottles, while we still have trash/recycling AND the bottles can be reused for water storage when they eventually empty!

My husband has OCD. One of the reasons I make sure I have enough soap/shampoo, etc. is because I know it will drive him CRAZY, if he cant bathe in some fashion or other. I’m sure that even if it’s only cold water available, he’ll want to have access to soap & water EVERY day. If it's one of the things I can prepare for that will make it easier to get through tough times, I'll do it. I have CASES of soap bars in the regular size ... not just the small hotel size that I mentioned above.

Another type of soap I stockpile is called TECNU used for removing poison oak oils, should you find that you have crawled through a thicket of poison oak/ivy or sumac. Its a liquid soap that comes in a plastic bottle and this stuff has saved my bacon many times. Also decontaminates laundry, pets and tools.